


Picking up the pieces

by LittlestLeopard



Series: Picking up the pieces [1]
Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
Genre: Abuse, Cutting, Doki doki literature club - Freeform, F/F, Multi, Polyamory, Recovery, Self Harm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-31
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-03-12 01:28:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13536768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittlestLeopard/pseuds/LittlestLeopard
Summary: With MC gone and the girls left to try and figure out what to do with their lives knowing everything they know as life is just a game. They decide to try and pick up the pieces and help themselves, and their friends.





	1. Picking up the pieces: Prologue.

The sun shined through the clouds and made its way through the window of the literature club, leaving a soft glow in the quiet room and illuminating the dust particles swept off the old books. A lot had happened throughout their time. The MC was long gone, and it left only them. Things were almost back to normal, except now all of them were aware of each other's troubles, each other's illnesses and weak points. 

Monika sighed and closed the book she was reading, finally breaking the eerie silence. "I think we should talk about the elephant in the room..." she said, glancing away as the other girls looked up from their respective books. "I... I know I messed up... We all did, but I more then anybody...but this is our life now.. we need to do our best to live it" she gave a nod as the other girls looked to each other nervously. 

Sayori was the first to speak, deciding to chime in with agreement and her usual optimistic tone. "okay... sure.. yeah! what do you propose we do though? I mean.. does it really matter in the end?" she asked, her tone going slightly quieter. Monika frowned, eyebrows drawing together "no! the first thing we need to do is stop thinking like this! This may not be real to others... maybe not to him. But it' real to us.. this is our real life. And we all have a lot of issues we need to work though... I.. I think.." she took a slight pause to think over her idea once more, "I think we should help each other out... come on, we're smart! We've all got a vast assortment of skills between us and a lot of issues to work through. But through all of this, we've had each other! We can do this!" she tried to keep her tone confident, even if it was all a ruse. She just wanted the others to pick up the pieces of their lives and get help, even if it was only from each other. 

The others looked to one another again as Sayori nodded "O...okay... Okay! I agree! we can all help each other!" she stood up "no more lies! no more faking and pretending everything is okay! we can start fresh and.. and we can make this into something better!" she already knew this would be especially hard for her, as she was already instinctively faking a cheery tone when in reality, she doubted this would work.  
"come on guys... we should at least try!" she said, looking to Natsuki and Yuri who sat silently. 

Natsuki crossed her arms and glared away "I... I guess so" she mumbled, sighing as she felt she may as well, what else was there to do? Yuri was next, seeming anxious and stressed with the situation. She soon sighed and nodded "alright... I.. I suppose.. we could give it a shot... I mean, what else do we have left to try?" she forced a very small smile as Monika gave a nod, content with getting her way. 

"Alright! I think I have a plan for how we can slowly go about it. How about this, We sit down here and.. and spill everything! All our fears, our traumas. All our illnesses and how we feel... Then. We can have one day each where we spend the entire day helping the other! so there'll be a day where we all help Sayori, and all help Natsuki, and so on! We can also try writing a poem each day about said person, and everything we like about them.. and the one whos day it is, has to write about what they like about themselves! It could help us all see we have some good in us, and others see it too" she put her arms behind her back and thought about the plan. She was scared of having to talk about what was going on in her life, as she was sure the others were as well, but felt this was for the best. 

The others all looked equally as nervous as Natsuki was the first to object. "N-No way!! I'm not telling you all everything! I.. I cant!" she tried to argue as the others looked at her sympathetically. "Natsuki.. please! this can help all of us. it's okay! you're safe here! we won't tell a soul" she smiled nervously "I mean, after all, we've been through together, do you really have anything to lose?" she asked. 

After a few moments, which felt like hours, of silence, Natsuki caved and just gave a weak nod "a...alright..." she sighed and rubbed her face, trying to compose herself. Monika looked around the room "Who'd like to go first?" she asked. When nobody spoke, she felt a pit form in her stomach. "Alright... I'll take one for the team and go first" she said, taking a deep breath as they all got sat on the floor in a circle. She thought for a moment to collect how she wanted to go about this, before starting. 

"I have a lot of trouble... telling what's real and what's not... after all this? Sometimes I wake up and wonder if its all a dream.. or the thought of.. of maybe I'm the fake one and you're all real. I sound really confident and collected, but most of the time, I have no idea what to do. I always lock up when arguments happen, because at home, my parents always argue.. I don't know why they don't just divorce.. But its always a fight" she sighed and ran a hand through her hair, letting the silence settle. 

"I'll go next," Sayori said quietly "I..." she opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She scanned the others expressions, wondering if they were at safe to give this information too. She knew in the end, it didn't matter. So why shouldn't she tell them? The thought of having an entire day to her was scary though. She didn't feel nearly important enough for such a thing. Then again, maybe that was one of the problems she should work through. She pushed the thoughts away and took another approach. She'd do it, but only to give the others courage to do the same. 

"I.. have had really bad depression these past few years." she said quietly "every day is the same... I can't sleep.. I sleep too much. I barely eat, then binge at school. I'm constantly wondering why I even bother continuing to deal with this.. Everything feels so pointless.. so.. so scary! it's so overwhelming! I try so hard to be happy, I want others to be happy.. But I never am" she sighed and closed her eyes "And to think the one person I had... someone who I thought was my best friend for years... to find out he.. he never existed... that this is all some game..." her smile wavered as she started feeling tears sting her eyes, giving a weak laugh "I'm sorry...." she whispered and looked away from the others. 

Monika nodded and looked at Yuri. "Yuri, you've been silent this entire time... Are you going to participate and share?" she asked. Yuri fidgeted nervously and nodded "I... I suppose I have no choice" she said, her voice shaking slightly. "I... I really like to cut myself... it gives me such a rush! such an intense feeling, when most of the time I feel nothing... I get.. get so attached to people too. I always close myself off because if I get too close I'll get attached and then it becomes risky and I feel so intense and so.. so overwhelmed with feelings and love, It makes me want to die!" she hadn't noticed she had clutched her skirt extremely tightly, realizing as she let go and went silent. 

All eyes were on Natsuki. She felt her stomach lurch as she was sure she was going to vomit. She looked at her lap and gathered every ounce of confidence she had. "My.... my dad.." she said it slowly "he... hurts me" she saw their concerned looks as she knew she couldn't turn back now. "He beats me... really badly sometimes... Sometimes he'll lock me in this.. this closet when I'm bad. But most of the time he just beats the shit out of me" she felt her hands shake as years of internalized abuse bubbled up "Sometimes he's... creepy.. towards me... I don't know if he's done anything like that.. but sometimes I wonder" she then went quiet as once again the silence settled in the room. 

Monika took a deep breath and nodded "alright... that's all of us. Now that it's all out there.. Let's get to work thinking how to fix it.. Alright? Tomorrow is a new day... whos day should it be first?" she asked. They all sort of shifted their eyes to Natsuki, who seemed thoroughly surprised "m..me?!" she went her face flush a bit and averted everybody's eyes "I.... I guess..." she mumbled as Monika got up "alright. That's settled then. Tomorrow, I expect you all to have various options and activities to help make Natsuki feel a bit better.. and to write a poem about why you like her" she looked to the clock and watched them all file out of the classroom, a somber silence having filled the once cheerful room. 

This would be a very interesting next four days.


	2. Natsuki's day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Natsuki's day, and she's trying her best to get her life in order with the help of her friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been 1000 years since I updated. Not sure when I'll update next, but I'll do my best.

 

                The next day, the girls had all slowly made their way into the literature club room. Monika gave a smile and greeted them all, one by one. When Natsuki made her way in, Monika beamed  
 "Natsuki! the girl of the day!" she chuckled and gestured for her to sit  
"Alright... It's time for us all to share our poetry. All of them should be about what we  love about Natsuki. Including your own" she said, looking to Natsuki who sat clutching a piece of paper tightly  
"For future reference, what if we can't find anything about ourselves we like enough to write about?" Sayori asked, knowing she'd have a lot of trouble actually writing anything good about herself.

                "That's a very good question, Sayori. I think in that case, you can wait until after everybody else reads their poem about you, and use what others like about you to write about. Then share it at the end of the session" she nodded to confirm. Her head then turned to Natsuki .  
"Natsuki, you can go last alright? Who would like to go first?" she asked.

One by one, the girls stood up and would read aloud their favourite things about Natsuki. Yuri based hers about bravery, while Sayori wrote about how she manages to stay positive despite her situation. Monika wrote that Natsuki is beautiful in her own way, and that there was nothing wrong with her being cute. When it was Natsuki's turn to share her poem, she started to get nervous, sweating and fidgeting with her hair. She eventually took a deep breath, and read aloud.

"Daddy can be mean

Mommy can be too.

Sometimes I'm scared

And don't know what to do.

I hide in the closet

Daddy locks me in.

I try to be happy

I do my best."

                The others frowned, but Monika soon smiled, and started clapping  
"That was fantastic, Natsuki. I'm so glad you participated and tried your best" she said, going to pet her head. Natsuki smiled and seemed to visibly relax, her shoulders drooping as she took a deep breath "Thank you... It was hard to write" she said. She looked to all the others.  
"Thank you... All. I really.. appreciate you all being here for me." she smiled weakly and opened her arms, letting the others come in for a group hug. She had to get better at showing her emotions, and letting the others know how she felt. She always tried her best, but she always felt she locked up and didnt feel important enough to have people care about her. She was always scared they'd end up hurting her.

                The rest of the day was spent trying to figure out how to help Natsuki deal with her father. Yuri soon decided to say her idea, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear and waiting for the others to finish talking before starting.  
"Perhaps..." she started, hesitating for only a moment. "Perhaps.. Natsuki  could live with one of us? She's old enough to move out, her father couldn't stop her... I don't think. Even so, surely Monika could..." she went silent, wanting to say  'delete him', but not being sure how they'd feel about that. Monika frowned, as Natsuki immediately got defensive  
"N-no!" she objected "No... please, do not.. I.. I know he hits me and is bad and stuff but... but he's my dad! I can't simply let him be... deleted" she said quietly "Please..."  
Monika nodded "Don't worry. I don't intend to delete anybody.  Ever again. Unless absolutely necessary" she said, smiling nervously and giving Natsuki a gentle pat on the knee of assurance.  
Yuri nodded "I... I'm sorry, I shouldn't of mentioned it. I'm so stupid! I'm so--" she cut herself off as the others shook their heads  
"No, Yuri, please. We need to help you get out of that method of thinking" Monika said, her voice going gentle  
"yeah Yuri, you were just trying to help" Natsuki was surprised she was trying to help Yuri, but she didn't exactly hate her, nor want her to hate herself due to her.

"Please, Yuri, Do not go cut yourself later because of this" Sayori said, her voice also softer.  
"We don't want you hurting yourself anymore, okay?"  
Yuri shook a bit as she got up, immediately running out as they all knew what she was going to do. Monika shook her head  
"Let her go... It's her choice. We can only be there to support her. Forcefully stopping her will only make her not trust us" she said quietly. "She...had a good point though. Natsuki, maybe you could live with Sayori?" she suggested  
 "Ever since Sayori's parents died she's been alone. It could be good to have someone at home"  
Sayori nodded and felt a bit upset having her parents be brought up  
"yeah I... I wouldn't mind you living with me" she smiled "especially if it'll stop your dad from hurting you! You could help me wake up on time and feel better, and I could keep you safe" she said, liking the idea.

                Natsuki hesitated, but soon nodded "okay... I'd be willing to try it" she said quietly "I don't want to be a burden though, so let me know if it becomes too much" she said, feeling guilty already. She didn't know how she was going to tell her dad this.  
"I know what you're thinking" Sayori interrupted her thoughts "I'll come to your place! I'll come to your place while you pack up. Theres no way your dad would dare hit you with somebody around, right? We can all come!" she smiled at the idea.  
Monika nodded in agreement "That's a fantastic idea!" she looked towards the door as Yuri returned.  
"Ah, Yuri, you're back. We were just figuring out the specifics of your idea. We decided to go with it, Natsuki will be moving in with Sayori and she'll go with her to help her pack" she said "so her father doesn't hurt her".

                Yuri looked shocked. They actually went with her idea? She got so worked up thinking they thought it was dumb. She felt relieved, of course. She smiled nervously and sat down  
"ah.. I'm so glad..." she said quietly "I hope it works out good for you Natsuki..."  
After a long pause, Sayori decided to ask what everybody was thinking.  
"Did you hurt yourself, Yuri...? Can we see?" she asked "Please. We want to help you!"  
Yuri hesitated, before nodding and pulling her sleeve up. Deep lacerations laced her arm as it was feebly bandaged up with tissue which was already soaked through with blood. Natsuki frowned as she got up, going to grab a medical kit that all classrooms had as policy. She sat down and pulled out the correct bandages, being glad none of them needed stitches that she could see. She began wrapping the bandages around her cuts, tying it into a cute bow afterwards.

                "Wow! I didn't know you were so good at mending wounds!" Sayori said, grinning "Hey Natsuki! that's such a great skill to have!"  
Natsuki blushed and glanced away, laughing nervously "Well, when you're left in the closet with wounds you learn to patch them up yourself" she said quietly.  
The other girls looked to one another "Closet..? You mentioned that before... Natsuki, why don't you tell us about it" Monika mentioned going to sit down as she pulled a chair up for her.  
Natsuki went silent and thought it over. It had been alright so far, how much could it hurt telling them a bit more?

                "Well..." she started "Sometimes when my dad is angry, he'll beat me... And then just lock me in the closet. So he doesn't have to deal with me" she said quietly.  
"That's awful!" Sayori immediately looked upset, gaining a motherly, protective aura towards Natsuki.  
Yuri nodded "That is awful... I'm very sorry you have to deal with that".  
Natsuki laughed nervously, feeling anxious that they were all worrying about her.  
"No no. It's fine. I'm pretty used to it, ya'know? It's not a big deal. It sucks, but it keeps me from being hurt more, plus I can just read my mangas and eventually he calms down and it's alright". She tried to cheer them up, but she ended up just making them worry more.  
"Natsuki... That is not something you should be used to" Sayori mentioned, sighing  
"I agree, It's good that you're going to be staying with Sayori now" Monika added.  
"I suppose tomorrow then we should move onto you Sayori" she smiled.

                "M-Me?!" Sayori perked and looked genuinely surprised, forgetting that yes, she'd need to have a day too. Monika nodded.  
"Yes, Sayori. you also need to get through your depression. And we're here to help you" she put an arm around her gently, going to try and comfort her. Sayori gave a slow nod, feeling nervous, but willing.

                The girls packed up for the day as they decided tomorrow they would also help Natsuki pack up and go to Sayoris house. For now, she was spending the night at home. It was getting late, and Natsuki was dreading walking through the door.


End file.
